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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an improved user interface for controlling an image acquisition device. In particular, the present invention provides a user interface including a property page having an interface for core image acquisition device control and a property page having an interface for device-dependent image acquisition device control. The present invention also provides a user interface in which a property page of a property sheet attractively provides plural interfaces for the control provided by that property page.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems often include at least one image acquisition device. Most common among these devices are scanners, although digital cameras are becoming increasingly popular. In order to access the functionality of such devices, users interact with user interfaces developed to provide control over the devices. These user interfaces may be provided by an operating system, an application, a device driver, or by software loaded within an input device.
Some features of image acquisition devices which are controlled by user interfaces are common to various devices, even among devices made by different manufacturers. For example, both the user interface for a Hewlett-Packard scanner and the user interface for a Kodak digital camera typically will provide control over an image scale feature. Despite this commonality, conventional user interfaces for different image acquisition devices vary markedly in how these common features are controlled. Thus, users must relearn the control of those common features each time a new image acquisition device is added to their systems.
One conventional solution to the above problem is to provide a generic user interface. However, such user interfaces typically lack the flexibility needed to take advantage of unique features of various image acquisition devices. For example, a generic scanner interface typically would be unable to provide control of a new smoothing feature of a new scanner, especially if previously-supported scanners did not provide similar smoothing features.
Accordingly, there is a need for a user interface that provides common control of common features of different image acquisition devices while retaining the flexibility needed to provide tailored control that takes advantage of the unique features of each different image acquisition device.
In addition to the above problem, there are typically many different perspectives from which a user interface might allow control by a user. For example, in using an image acquisition device, a novice has a different understanding of the concept of tone than that of an expert. For a novice, “tone” might be understood as no more than simple brightness/contrast control, whereas an expert might understand “tone” to refer to gamma or to the input/output characteristics of an editable tone curve. Thus, from the perspective of a novice, the user interface should provide for tone control with a simple brightness/contrast adjustment, whereas from the perspective of an expert, the user interface should provide for tone control with a fully editable tone curve. Generalizing this concept, it is advantageous for a user interface to provide plural different interfaces for a single control.
One conventional arrangement for providing a user interface with plural different interfaces consists of a property page having buttons corresponding to each different interface. When a button is selected, a separate window containing the corresponding interface is displayed. This window is “modal”, which means that the user must make any desired adjustments within the window and exit the window before selecting another interface. Because this conventional arrangement requires the display of these modal windows, this arrangement results in a user interface that is cluttered and unwieldy.
Another conventional arrangement for providing a user interface with plural different interfaces consists of plural different interfaces crowded onto a single property page in a property sheet. Thus, one property page might provide a contrast/brightness interface, a gamma interface, and an editable curve interface, all displayed at once. However, this conventional arrangement leads to a poor user interface because the property page becomes too crowded and cluttered if more than a few interfaces are provided.
Alternatively, a user interface might provide plural different interfaces corresponding to a single control through a property sheet having separate property pages for each different interface. For example, in a scanner, to provide plural interfaces for tone control, one property page might have an interface that provides a contrast/brightness adjustment, and another property page might have an interface that provides an editable tone curve. However, this arrangement leads to a poor user interface for at least three reasons. First, too many property pages are needed, making the user interface unwieldy and unattractive. Second, because different interfaces to a single control are spread out over separate property pages, and because each interface has a different appearance, a user might be confused into thinking that each property page actually provides a different control. Third, in order to avoid inconsistencies, manipulation of one property page must be reflected in the other property pages, thereby violating a basic user interface design convention which requires that manipulation of one property page should not affect another property page. In contrast to this arrangement, a well-designed user interface typically will be organized so that a single exclusive control is provided by a single property page in a property sheet.
Accordingly, there is a need for a user interface in which a property page of a property sheet attractively provides plural interfaces for control provided by the property page.